


Till Death Do Us Part

by A_reluctant_dreamer



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coping, HIV/AIDS, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Past Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-10-20 15:48:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20677910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_reluctant_dreamer/pseuds/A_reluctant_dreamer





	Till Death Do Us Part

Tony and Steve both come off HIV prevention meds when they get married. They cost a lot and being married is not exactly risky sexual behaviour. But as they years pass, they drift apart and Tony feels lonely. Steve rarely touches him now and his uncharacteristic roughness betrays the guilt he tries to hide.

He’s cheating, Tony knows it, even if he doesn’t admit it out loud. Tony could do the same but fidelity means a lot to him. They swore to it until death do them part. Tony means to honour that vow.

It gets harder when he meets his beautiful new intern who is obviously very taken with him. Tony however doesn’t want to use Peter, and when it gets hard to resist, he decides to go hook up with someone.

So, he goes back to his doctor and asks for the meds again. He doesn’t even pay attention when the doctor tells him that he has to get tested again. He’s too devastated by the shame he feels over his own decision to cheat.

When he gets the results, his whole life comes tumbling down. There, on the paper is written the true story of his marriage. A husband who not only fucked around but did it unprotected, gambling his own and his husband’s life on the words of random strangers. If he took the trouble to ask them at all.

Tony never goes home again. Pepper and SI’s PR team work wonders to hush it all up. They pay a fortune to the doctor and also to Steve for their silence. They get him to agree to a staged date where he can get caught cheating. The tabloids lap it up. Tony sees Steve one last time when they sign the divorce papers. That Steve looks 10 years older and completely broken doesn’t do anything to make Tony feel better.

They only place where he can relax is his office, when Peter comes to talk to him after he’s done in the labs. The boy is truly by his side, really listening to him and not just  _ dealing with the situation _ . Peter stands by him even after Tony tells him the truth.

Pepper is livid when she finds out that Tony talked to Peter. She shouts at him, saying that she didn’t spent SI resources on finding doctors and therapists that can be trusted for Tony to go and risk the whole company. Tony counters her, saying that while she was searching for strangers who he could pay to talk to, Peter actually cared about him. Pepper snaps and tells him that of course he listened because he’s in love with Tony and that it’s fucking unfair to burden a vulnerable young man with his life.

That makes Tony think and eventually he seeks professional help. It takes him a long time to work through the trauma Steve caused him and to come to terms with living with his condition.

In the meantime, Peter’s internship ends and Tony hires him without hesitation. It takes him longer to admit that he’s fallen for Peter. He’s so young and Tony’s old and sick, a danger to him every second. But he remembers how he finally accepted in therapy that his condition doesn’t mean he has to stop living. Even though it is a thousand times harder in real life, he summons his courage and decides to ask Peter out.

He takes his time to choose the best restaurant and to make reservations when he realises that it’s nothing but procrastination. So, the next day he goes down to the labs. Asking Peter to a casual lunch date first is easier and it will give him a better opportunity to mention dinner and that it’s a date.

Peter’s face falls when he hears Tony out.

“I’m sorry, I’ve already made plans with Dave,” he says, blushing and turning to the young man working next to him.

Tony’s stomach drops. He barely hears when Peter adds more cheerily that of course, if Dave doesn’t mind, he can come with them. He shakes his head and staggers out of the labs.

He drinks himself into oblivion that day. Then, he regrets it and calls his therapist again. They have a session but with the winter holidays around the corner their next appointment falls to January. Tony spends Christmas with his darkest thoughts. Oddly, however he doesn’t spiral all the way down. The past year has really taught him about responsibility. The world doesn’t revolve around him and if anything, the fact that Peter has moved on from what probably was a celebrity crush should make him proud of the boy. It still hurts but Tony manages to get through the worst.

New Year’s Eve finds him in his lab. He’s taken to coming down to tinker during the hardest times. The distraction has proven helpful before and what better way than creating new projects for his company? He vaguely suspects that it’s getting late but he doesn’t bother checking the time.

It’s there that Peter finds him. His curls are frozen and he’s shivering despite his warm coat and the heating in the building.

“How did you get here? It’s crazy out there,” Tony says, hurrying to his side.

Peter huffs and hangs his head. He takes a minute to gather himself, then he meets Tony’s eyes before he speaking up.

“I came here quite early. Before the crowds. I wanted to talk to you but I got cold feet.”

“Literally,” Tony chides, ushering Peter towards the lift.

Peter accepts and they don’t talk again until Peter is wearing warm dry clothes and sipping a mug of tea. He spends a few minutes looking out on the city from the penthouse windows before turning to address Tony.

“I came to ask you if you wanted me.”

Tony freezes. His eyes well up and his heart is ready to burst. “I do,” he says without thinking.

“Are you ready to commit again?” Peter asks.

“I am,” Tony tells him. He has a million questions but all he can do is stare at Peter.

“I don’t mind that you are sick. I know it’s a risk but I’m ready to take it and I trust you…  _ us  _ to manage it responsibly. Am I wrong to do so?” he asks after a few seconds of stunned silence from Tony.

“No,” Tony says, walking up to him and taking his hands.

Peter smiles. “Good. Because, though probably you’ve already figured it out, I love you. And I’m glad I got cold feet and probably a cold, too because I needed the time to think. I came here convinced that I had a right to be angry with you for making me wait. Because I was right there all along…” He shakes his head. “I realised that it was better this way. You needed therapy and I needed distance to learn the difference between you and my hero. But I’m here know,” he finishes tilting his head and smiling up at Tony.

“God, you are here,” Tony breathes and pulls Peter into a hug before breaking down in uncontrollable sobs.


End file.
